OLYMPIC star Steve Cram met the next generation of sporting stars as he inspired them to aim for the top.

Cram, who won gold at the European and Commonwealth Championships along with the World Championships and a silver medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, visited East Durham College, in Peterlee.

He told sport students about his successful career on and off the track and what made him a top athlete.

Cram also met with media students to talk about his successful move into broadcasting and how he got his role as the BBC’s Chief Athletics Commentator.

He then toured the college’s state-of-the-art Peterlee campus with members of the sports staff and sports students.

Cram, nicknamed the Jarrow Arrow, said: “It was great to get a chance to come and meet some of the students and they all had some very good questions. It was nice to get a chance to talk about both parts of my career and be able to give some advice to both the sport students and the media students. I’m really impressed with the facilities at the college.”

Students at the college were delighted to have met such a successful star.

East Durham College elite rugby player and sport student, Adam Keeler, said: “It was a fantastic opportunity to get the chance to talk to someone like Steve.

“He had a fantastic career and it was really inspiring to hear what it was like to be a professional athlete, how he trained and how he had to stay focused throughout his career to achieve his goals.